Isaiah 39-40

Isaiah 39-40New King James Version (NKJV)

The Babylonian Envoys

39 At that time Merodach-Baladan[a] the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?”

So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.”

4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?”

So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”

God’s People Are Comforted

40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”Says your God.2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,That her warfare is ended,That her iniquity is pardoned;For she has received from the Lord’s handDouble for all her sins.”

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:“Prepare the way of the Lord;Make straight in the desert[b]A highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be exaltedAnd every mountain and hill brought low;The crooked places shall be made straightAnd the rough places smooth;5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,And all flesh shall see it together;For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

“All flesh is grass,And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.7 The grass withers, the flower fades,Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;Surely the people are grass.8 The grass withers, the flower fades,But the word of our God stands forever.”

9 O Zion,You who bring good tidings,Get up into the high mountain;O Jerusalem,You who bring good tidings,Lift up your voice with strength,Lift it up, be not afraid;Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,And His arm shall rule for Him;Behold, His reward is with Him,And His work before Him.11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;He will gather the lambs with His arm,And carry them in His bosom,And gently lead those who are with young.

12 Who has measured the waters[d] in the hollow of His hand,Measured heaven with a spanAnd calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?Weighed the mountains in scalesAnd the hills in a balance?13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,Or as His counselor has taught Him?14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,And taught Him in the path of justice?Who taught Him knowledge,And showed Him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,And are counted as the small dust on the scales;Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.17 All nations before Him are as nothing,And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

18 To whom then will you liken God?Or what likeness will you compare to Him?19 The workman molds an image,The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,And the silversmith casts silver chains.20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contributionChooses a tree that will not rot;He seeks for himself a skillful workmanTo prepare a carved image that will not totter.

21 Have you not known?Have you not heard?Has it not been told you from the beginning?Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.23 He brings the princes to nothing;He makes the judges of the earth useless.

24 Scarcely shall they be planted,Scarcely shall they be sown,Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,When He will also blow on them,And they will wither,And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 “To whom then will you liken Me,Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.26 Lift up your eyes on high,And see who has created these things,Who brings out their host by number;He calls them all by name,By the greatness of His mightAnd the strength of His power;Not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,And speak, O Israel:“My way is hidden from the Lord,And my just claim is passed over by my God”?28 Have you not known?Have you not heard?The everlasting God, the Lord,The Creator of the ends of the earth,Neither faints nor is weary.His understanding is unsearchable.29 He gives power to the weak,And to those who have no might He increases strength.30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,And the young men shall utterly fall,31 But those who wait on the LordShall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint.

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